Lehigh Gap Nature Center's Dan Kunkle honored

BARB WIEMANN, CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Dan Kunkle (left) receives the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Mid Atlantic Regional Partnership Committee's 2015 Partner of the Year Award from Anne Griffin. The award recognizes Kunkle's dedication, partnership and stewardship on behalf of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. Griffin made the presentation April 11 at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center on behalf of the 12 trail-maintaining clubs of the Mid Atlantic region.

Dan Kunkle (left) receives the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Mid Atlantic Regional Partnership Committee's 2015 Partner of the Year Award from Anne Griffin. The award recognizes Kunkle's dedication, partnership and stewardship on behalf of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. Griffin made the presentation April 11 at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center on behalf of the 12 trail-maintaining clubs of the Mid Atlantic region. (BARB WIEMANN, CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Dan Kunkle, the founder and executive director of Lehigh Gap Nature Center in Slatington, was surprised on April 11 when members of the Allentown Hiking Club showed up during a work day on the property to present him with an award.

Kunkle received the Appalachian Trail Conservancy 2015 Partner of the Year, Mid-Atlantic Region award in advance of Earth Day in recognition of his work with the trail community, environmental protection, education and advocacy work for the Kittatinny Ridge.

"I had no idea they had such an award," Kunkle said. "They were going to do it at another time when we hosted a big meeting here, but the weather didn't cooperate that day."

This is the first time in several years that the Partner award has been presented. The Mid-Atlantic Region covers New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia.

Kunkle said the LGNC Earth Day celebration is Saturday with a fly-fishing boot camp that is already booked full, and a trail hike beginning at 9:45 a.m. with hikers meeting at the Osprey House on the property at 8844 Paint Mill Road, Slatington.

Today for Earth Day, Kunkle is presenting a program at Franklin Elementary School in Lehighton.

Anne Griffin of the Allentown Hiking Club, which nominated Kunkle for the award, said that he and the LGNC have always consulted and worked with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy whenever issues arose. The Nature Center acted as the coordinator for trail guards during the aerial seeding of the Blue Mountain construction project to prevent rock falls. The center recently provided meeting facilities for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy trail relocation seminars that introduced club members to trail design principles.

Kunkle is also an advocate for the protection of the Kittatinny Ridge. He has worked with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the Audubon Society to prevent construction of windmills and other development on the mountain, which would be detrimental to the hiking and birding experience.

Pennsylvania Game Commission happenings: The 2015-16 seasons and bag limits for hunting and trapping have been officially approved. The action came during the game commission's quarterly board of directors meetings earlier this month.

To see the new seasons and bag limits, go online to http://www.pgc.state.pa.us and then look for the Quick Clicks bar on the right and click on Adopted 2015-16 Seasons & Bag Limits.

The board also changed the boundaries for Wildlife Management Units 5C and 5D, making WMU 5D larger to the north and west.

The board allocated just 70,000 antlerless deer permits for local Wildlife Management Unit 5C, down from 95,000 available last season.

The statewide allocation for antlerless deer permits is 746,500.

The board also approved the controversial Mentored Youth Hunt limit for antlered deer and turkeys that requires the mentored hunter to transfer his or her tag to any mentored youth under the age of 7 who is successful on either big-game species. Antlered deer and spring turkey harvest tags would be issued only as part of the Mentored Youth Hunting Permits issued to mentored youth ages 7 through 11.

There still is no minimum age to participate in Pennsylvania's Mentored Youth Hunting Program. Mentored youth may only hunt deer, turkeys, squirrels, woodchucks and coyotes.

All mentored youth hunters must obtain a $2.70 permit that is valid during the season.

The program is free for ages 6-15 and features hands-on experiential learning in fishing, casting, archery, tree and plant identification, basic first aid, outdoor survival, knot tying, canoeing and much more.

Representatives from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Carbon County Environmental Center, Lehigh Valley Canoe Club, Hokendauqua Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Blue Mountain Fish and Game and Northampton County Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs will assist with the program.

Hawk Mountain Lecture Series begins May 2: Hawk Mountain has partnered with Ernst Conservation Seeds this year to present its annual lecture series.

The first lecture is scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday, May 2, featuring New York Times garden columnist Anne Raver presenting "My Life in Gardens: Stories from Around the Globe."

Raver will autograph copies of her book, "Deep in the Green: An Exploration of Country Pleasures" following the lecture/media presentation.

The series lectures are free for Hawk Mountain members, and $5 for nonmembers. Register for the event by calling 610-756-6961.

Revamped website for National Audubon Society: Early spring is one of the ideal times for viewing birds because the birds are relatively easy to spot with the naked eye.

Just in time for that, the National Audubon Society has announced a major remake of its website to make better use of today's technologies while also making the site easier to use and more friendly to birding novices.

Stories, brilliantly sharp photographs, and much more are offered as daily content for worldwide birding. Plus Audubon has launched a new mobile-friendly bird guide that features illustrations by David Allen Sibley and bird descriptions from Kenn Kaufman.